Templar Effect
by donamatter
Summary: The result of the Templars dominating Earth, politically, commercially and militarily. The replication of First Civilisation artefacts by Abstergo Industries saw the first ship on Mars in the later quarter of the 21st century where they discovered the Prothean archive. The first contact between Turian and human panned out far different with the Templars in control. Protect and win.
1. Templar

'The design is somewhat reminiscent of the archive we found on Mars.'

The scientist pointed out points of interest on the holographic image of the dual pronged device.

'So these Protheans. We're they the ones who built it?' asked the man next to him.

'From what we know, it's hard to say. It's more than likely though.'

A man in a navy uniform walked out of the shadows. He rubbed a gold ring up and down his ring finger and rubbed his thumb across a ruby cross imbedded in it.

'Does it have a name?'

'The only information we've been able to recover along with the schematics were the words, Mass and relay.'

'Mass Relay?'

'My head engineers theorize it could be related to the Mass drives discovered in the archive.'

'I'll inform the Grand Master, he'll be the one to pass down judgment.'

The scientist nodded and the broad man disappeared back into the shadows in silence. The ghostly glow of the orange display shimmered over the puzzled scientist and as he walked away the display shut down and the room felt silent; black and silent.

Three Months later  
S.S.V Juno

The ship seemed to sit still in the darkness, only visible by the pulsing gold veins running through its hull. In the vast expanse of black a small blue orb shone in the distance, growing brighter as the ship drew closer.

'We'll be in IFF range in 3 minutes,' said the pilot.

His hands hovered over two circular seals with degree angles projected over them, controlling lateral and non-lateral thrust. The semi-circular bridge centered on a round holo-table with an image of the Mass Relay projected over it.

'Are we totally sure the ship isn't going to implode when we hit the relay?' asked the ships first officer.

His navy uniform trimmed with gold stuck out from the white lab coats around him. The Red Cross on the uniforms left breast pad was something all the uniforms bore, the symbol of power and authority.

'All of the simulations we have conducted suggest the drive we have engineered will broadcast a Prothean IFF, allowing us safe passage through the relay,' explained a young scientist.

The round door leading onto the bridge slid across and a tall, broad man walked onto the bridge with an aura of order emanating from him. He wore the ring of a Master Templar on his ring finger and walked looked like Goliath himself.

'Master Grissom, how went the meeting with the Grand Master?'

'Well thank you. You must be Officer Hackett, my new first officer?'

Hackett shook Grissom's hand. Their uniforms matched in every way except for the Templar cross on either of Grissom's shoulders. Hackett noticed the leather gauntlet on Grissom's left forearm, underneath it was a steel blade for silent killing; something Hackett longed for.

'Yes, sir. I've just arrived.'

Grissom stood at the tables end looking out of the panoramic viewport at the closing mass relay in astonishment.

'Such a strange piece of technology. Weightless space travel? Who would've thought?'

'An amazing feat. It's pushed our technology forward decades,' added Hackett.

'More like centuries,' said another scientist.

'Are we ready?' asked Grissom.

'The last of the ice has been collected and Sol station have successfully brought the relay online,' replied the scientist at Grissom's left.

Thin metal rings revolved around a pulsing blue core of element zero. The arms extending out ward seemed to pulse white in sync with the pulse of the core. Grissom watched it grow closer and closer.

'We are green to hit the relay. Beginning final approach, sending Prothean IFF now,' announced the pilot as he maneuvered the ship to curve around in front of the relay.

The massive, ancient device dwarfed the Juno like a human to an ant. The bridge fell silent as the crew were enthralled by the enormity of it.

'How will we know if the IFF is accepted?' asked Hackett.

'We'll be jumped,' replied one of the oldest of the three scientists.

A sudden blue field encompassed the ship and the velocity speeds on the pilots console began to climb exponentially. The matte black abyss turned into a convulsing tunnel of light. The velocity meter fizzed like fat on a frying pan as the speeds they were travelling at exceeded its limit. Suddenly the tunnel exploded into a new, unexplored system. The new relay they had arrived at looked identical to the one they had come from.

'Analysis?' asked Hackett.

'Just as we expected. The relay is exactly the same as ours.'

'Any idea where we are?'

A map of the Milky Way galaxy came up over the table showing their location, the Arcturus stream; 37 light years from Earth.

'Oh my god. That is truly remarkable.'

12 years later

The newly named Arcturus prime relay pulsed bright and a series of vessels thumped into the Arcturus system. The 5 kilometer wide station sat in empty space, 30,000 kilometers from the tip of the relay. The fresh Black mirrored hull of the SSV Arcaragua reflected the ancient light of the stars. The 3 kilometer long Archimedes class ship was fresh from space dock at Arcturus station and ready for its first deep space assignment. The ship past off the inbound fleets port side continued onto pass the mass relay.

'You nervous Newton?' asked Officer Reid

'No sir. It's a funny feeling to be on such a big mission,' replied Lieutenant Newton.

'We jump in, activate the relay and hit it. Simple as that,' smiled Reid.

'You really think it will be that simple?' wondered Newton.

'Of course not.'

Newton smirked as the ships Jump core whined and they jumped into a rush of light flowing over the ship. The triangular hull of the ship orbited around a massive sphere with glowing gold circles at either of its poles and matching gold veins running around it.

'It's a relatively short jump, it shouldn't take us long,' said Reid.

'Tell me again why we don't have any support ships?'

'The Arcaragua was built to operate independently. Its state of the art point defense systems and energy shields give us the same effectiveness as a small pursuit fleet,' replied Reid.

'You say that like we need the weaponry and shields.'

'The galaxy is massive, who knows what could be lying around the next corner,' smirked Reid.

The jump core wound down and the ship fell into a new and alien system. The Pilot and the lieutenants that flanked him began scanning the system for a Mass relay. The long range sensors sounded off in an echoing pinging sound. The sensors suddenly began to flicker and fault as they entered into an energy cloud.

'Adjust the sensors to scan for large element zero signatures.'

The navigations officer adjusted the sensors to a lower frequency to reduce the amount of interference and an element zero signature blipped into existence on the screen.

'Got it. 3 AU's off our starboard bow.'

Reid switched the holo-table on and the signature appeared as a pulsing blue dot. Suddenly the whir of a siren rang through the ship. Newton jumped at the sudden clang of the echoing siren.

'Report!' cried Reid over the siren.

'The energy cloud is starting to eat away the hull!,' cried the science officer.

'Raise the shields. And turn that damn alarm off!'

A series of golden hexagons built a spherical shield around the ship before becoming transparent. Newton relaxed as the alarm stopped abruptly.

'Maximum sub light to the relay,' ordered Reid.

'Yes, sir. ETA is 1 hour.'

50 minutes later

'I can't believe they put you out here after that,' sighed Reid.

'It wasn't a bad bleed…'

'A bleed is a bleed. After all this time the bleeding effect is still the only set back of the Animus training program.'

The animus program had been adapted and advanced since the fall of the Assassin. Most Animi are small devices such as eyewear for live simulation training for Alliance and certain ones are large tubular cases used for long range communications.

'Officer Reid, we've just cleared the energy cloud and are registering another element zero signature about 100,000 kilometers off our aft,' came a voice over the rooms comm.

'I'm on my way,' replied Reid.

He grabbed Newton's arm and yanked him onto his feet. Newton looked at his commander in bewilderment.

'Your letting me stay on active duty?'

'You're my first officer. A good one at that,' smiled Reid.

The door to the bridge rolled over and they walked onto the bridge. The small blue dot pulsed, slowly moving in seemingly lifeless planet.

'What is it?' asked Newton.

'Probably an asteroid. Ignore it. Are we ready to activate the relay?'

'Doctor Marcel is priming the activation key now,' replied a lieutenant.

Reid and Newton stood at either side of the holo-table watching the relay draw closer. Marcel stood on the starboard side of the bridge at a console.

'We can send the key anytime now,' he announced.

'Send it now,' ordered Reid.

The white lights along the relay began to pulse to life and the rings around the glowing blue orb began to move.

Suddenly a hollow knock rang through the ship and by chance Reid caught sight of the small blue dot disappearing from the map.

'What just happened?' asked Reid.

'Residual thermal signature points to the activation of a Prothean FTL drive,' explained Marcel.

'Protheans?'

Reid looked at Newton with a look of astonishment. They hadn't encountered any Protheans on the dozens of planets they had catalogued, none that were alive. For all intents and purposes the Protheans were extinct. Suddenly the sound arose again and the small dot re-appeared a mere 20,000 kilometers off their aft.

'Tactical analysis!' cried Newton in a spur of adrenaline.

'500 meters in length, several Prothean mass accelerator cannons and kinetic shields,' replied Marcel.

'Raise shields,' ordered Reid.

'Already up, sir.'

An image of a long ship with small segmented wings protruding from the main body and thick metallic rods extending from the bow of it. The ship suddenly shook and a loud crash echoed through the ship before the alarm began to ring again.

'Their firing, shields are holding steady!'

'Turn that damn alarm damn alarm off!' yelled Reid frustrated.

The alarm stopped and another explosion shook the ship ever slightly. The shields absorbed the explosions but some of the residual shock make it through.

'What's our play?' asked Newton.

'Let's break into their ships database,' thought Reid.

'We've never used the Prothean virus before.'

'What is there to it? Upload it, wait for the data to upload and hot tail it out of here.'

Reid nodded to Marcel to send the virus. The ship rattled again, Marcel sent the virus and watched it barge through fire walls and infest the enemy's database like rapidly spreading roots. Marcel gasped at the rapid file recovery and as the completion toggle filled and it flashed green Marcel paused.

'Data received and archived,' he announced.

'That was fast? Helmsman, get us out of here.'

Later that day

Three white silhouettes formed into Officer Reid, Master Grissom and Master Hackett. Their gridded silhouettes turned into their suede blue uniforms lined with gold cotton. The brown leather gauntlets on the Masters left forearms signified their supremacy over all others.

'Officer Reid, Master Hackett; I'm glad to see you both again,' greeted Grissom.

'Likewise,' replied Hackett.

'I trust the data we recovered was put to good use?'

Reid was no stranger to Master Templar oppression. The rings they wore were Eden tech; able to bend the mind of those around them to do their bidding.

'Of course. The data was in an alien language but luckily we found a reference key in the Prothean archive, linked to a young race called Turians.'

'What else do we have on them?' asked Reid.

'Everything. Deployment information, ship statistics. Even the location of a large space station they call the Citadel.'

A fourth silhouette began to form, taking the shape of a tall and broad man. As his image clarified the breath in Reid's lungs was sucked out in the blink of an eye. The man's chestnut skin was scarred and his head was covered in thick black hair, combed back into a short mullet. His uniform was different to all the others. Black suede with the red Templar cross on the left breast plate.

'A Marshall?'

'My name is Marshall David Anderson, use it,' snarled Anderson.

'You're to link up with the second fleet commanded by Master Drescher, there Marshall Anderson will be transferred to your ship,' explained Grissom.

'And then?'

'And then you will await further orders from us, understand.'

'Yes Masters.'

The simulation shut down in a flurry of grids and fragmented shapes to turn into an open square room off the bridge. Reid turned around and walked out of the room onto the bridge. The shock of meeting a Marshall had stunned more than anything in his life. Marshalls were war assets created by severe genetic modification to hollow out their bones and reinforce them with light weight black glass. Light as a feather but stronger than steel.

'How did the convening go?' asked Newton.

'A little different,' replied Reid.

Reid undid the top button on his jacket leant on the holo-table as sweat poured from his pores; his life just got a whole lot more complicated


	2. Anderson

'Tell me Anderson. What do you feel?'

The deep rasping voice of the Doctor echoed through his head like a sharp razor slicing through his brain. His body burned hotter than a sun and the sweat oozed from his pours, coating his skin in a glossy glare.

'Pain…I feel…Pain.'

'Good. Now control it, don't let it control you. Pain is an emotion, emotions can be controlled.'

The burning stabbed at his spine. He struggled against the clamps, desperately trying to fight his way out of it. The old, wrinkled face of the Doctor burned on his retinas like a tattoo; there forever. His lungs rasped and he rose up in his bed, lathered in sweat and out of breath. His chest pounded up and down in a frenzy and his heart thudded like a drum. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and calmed himself, breathing slower and taking in deeper breaths. He looked at the scars along his arms from the multiple surgeries to augment his body. The augmentation was very specific. The material coated over his bones was very strong but was sometimes rejected by the body; the result was the death of the subject.

'Marshal Anderson. Report to mission command.'

The voice of the ships UI (Utility Intelligence) echoed over the small compartments speaker system. Anderson stood up and walked to the end of the compartment where a tin mannequin stood. On the mannequin was his Templar armor. Templar armor was one of the few things in the alliance made from all human resources. The armor was Titanium armor over boiled leather. He strapped the armor to his body. The armor covered areas with vital organs and arteries: Chest, torso, arms, thighs and calves. He shrugged into a grey jumpsuit, covering everything but his arms. A black hood coat sat in the back of a chair and on the floor beside it were pair of black boots. He shrugged into the coat and buttoned up the boots. Opened a rectangular box on his desk and removed his hidden blade. He slid into his forearm and opened his hand to watch the blade rise and as he relaxed his hand the blade retracted.

The door to his compartment opened and the bright lights of the crew gangway shone in his eyes like bad lens flares. The small stealth ship hummed through the darkness towards Raguel, one of seven colonies populated by humanity. Mission command was a small area off to the side in the cargo bay. Master Drescher had taken command of the ship temporarily before heading back to the second fleet. Stealth ships used human computer systems as Precursor technology emitted excess photonic heat. The ships precursor drive was encased in a mirror room which masks its heat emissions. Most ships use precursor computer systems so their heat signatures are how they're tracked.

'Master Drescher, Marshal Anderson reporting.'

Drescher turned around and shook Andersons hand with a firm grip.

'Let's get down to business.'

The screen behind him displayed a man in orange, black and white uniform. The uniform was familiar to Anderson; Cerberus. After the decimation of their order the Assassins fell back behind they named Cerberus. Cerberus has an anonymous leader known as the illusive man that is if it's a man.

'What are assassins doing on Raguel?'

'Cerberus has been growing, they've started making small raids on remote mining operations and Exo-colonies.'

'They're getting bold,' replied Anderson.

'Exactly. His name is mentor Emil Aucaman, German mother, native American,' explained Drescher.

'A skilled combatant, it's going to be hard to sneak up on him.'

'I have faith in you Mr. Anderson, may the seven guide you.'

Alpha Centauri, Raguel, Haven city

Haven city sat on the banks of the Amadeus River, sprawling for several miles along the coast of the sapphire sea. Cerberus have made their main base in an unknown location but their Assassin leadership have set up new bureaus across the seven colonies. Assassins had been relatively absent from the public eye since the Templars assumed control over Earths governments and armed forces.

Anderson stood on top of the Haven city spire, looking over the glimmering coastal city as the chilled sea swirled around him. He slid a grey ring into his ring finger and a flicker of green appeared over his body and then disappeared. The world around him exploded into a thermal image. Small blurs of heat in a cold blue background replaced the shimmering city, moving around as if floating around. His vision changed back on psychic command and he stood on the edge of the building. He took and pick axe like weapon from its holster flipped around in his hands a couple of times before holding it firmly. He stepped off the side of the building and slammed the short, sharp claw on the back of the weapon into the metal framing of the massive window. His muscles clenched as he pulled himself up so his toes sat on the small windows edge.

He grabbed the frame of the window and changed his vision to thermal. The room inside was clear so he grabbed his axe and smashed through the window. The room was a maintenance space. The buildings power controls were on the console at the center of the room along with its security protocols. Turning the power off would make the assassin mentor suspicious, a suspicious assassin wasn't a setback he needed. Instead he deactivated the buildings security UI letting him move through the building without the risk of being detected by cameras or facial recognition systems. Marshals operate as secret as possible, hence the Marshal oath: '_Unseen, Unheard, and Unconditional_.'

His thermal vision pinged a gold blur, representing Mentor Aucaman. His target was about 4 floors below him, surrounded by other red heat signatures. He left the room and entered into a small stairwell leading to a security door locked by magnets. He opened a small leather pouch on his belt and removed a small round electro magnet and stuck it to the lock. He pressed the trigger on the top and the door clicked open. A Cerberus agent strutted past, catching sight of Anderson as he opened the door. Andersons hidden blade slid between the guards third and fourth rib, impaling his heart and left lung. He wheezed to death and Anderson placed him behind the door, out of sight. He twirled the thin pick axe in his hand. He sneaked along the wall and another agent patrolled the hall around the corner. As the guard reached the corner Anderson swung the longer blade of the pick axe through the guard's neck. He let the body fall on him and pulled it around the corner. The long window lining the right wall seemed to shine a spot light on the entrance to the meeting room. A front door entrance wasn't an option there had to be another way he could get in unspotted. The voices inside the room grew closer and the large oak door clunked open and a group of Cerberus ring leaders.

'Holy god,' he huffed.

He was here to kill one Assassin mentor. He nor the alliance had no idea that the ring leaders of the Cerberus operation on Raguel would be here.

'Master Grissom can you hear me?' He held a finger to his ear piece.

'Anderson? What happened?'

The communications channel was only used for emergencies.

'Sir, we just hit the mother lode. Aucaman has his whole council with him.'

'Do not engage! Return to the Alliance tower and await evacuation,' ordered Grissom.

'Not this time. Sorry sir, but I'm going in.'

He severed the link before Grissom could order him any further. He peaked around the corner to see the five men, including Aucaman heading towards the elevator. The four ring leaders would be easy, Aucaman however is a different story. Anderson's knuckles flushed white as he clenched hard on his axe with nerves. He reached behind him and pulled a pistol from the back of his belt. A line along the elongated barrel fizzed red as he flicked a switch on the side of the gun. The barrel was split in two down the center with red prongs lining the inside. He rose it up and slid out from the corner. His hand followed his eyes and slithers of metal travelling at near light speeds ruptured internal organs with a echoing clang. The Cerberus ring leaders fell around Aucaman; his pale white robes stuck out like a sore thumb. The final leader fell as his stomach exploded in a volcano of blood.  
Anderson slid the pistol into its holster on the back of his belt and swapped his axe into his right hand in anticipation for a fight. The white robes he wore shifted around him as he turned to face Anderson and the red velvet belt he wore rustled at the movement of his hips. The peaked hood covering his face made it look like a black abyssal being inhabited the robes.

'Mentor Aucaman, you are hereby under arrest according to Alliance law. Failure to comply is punishable by death,' announced Anderson.

A freedom of choice to live or die a convicted criminal was the most humane way to deal with the assassins.

'I will not comply with you. Templar.'

Anderson walked towards him, readying his axe to strike him down as quick and painless as possible. A slash across the throat would be relatively clean but a blow through the skull would be quick and painless but messy. Aucaman stood perfectly still as Anderson moved closer. Aucaman's calm demeanor made Anderson nervous. He hadn't seen anyone face death so calmly before.

'Are you afraid?'

'Death does not frighten me.'

Anderson stood at the edge of the blood pool he had created. He watched the carpet absorb the blood like a giant sponge. As he walked through it the carpet squelched as his boots touched and left the blood soaked carpet. He stopped half a meter from Aucaman and the assassin's facial features became visible. His small narrow nose and thin mouth seemed out of proportion to the large chiseled face he had.

'Any final words?' asked Anderson with a quiver in his voice.

'Nothing is true and everything is permitted.'

The famous Maxim of the assassin. A Maxim that they swore to abide by but yet every single one of their tenets had to be broken to be an Assassin. A cult of hypocritical nomads, nothing more than a rat in the walls of the Templar construct. Anderson rose his axe over his head and in one adrenaline he brought it back down. In a mere blink the Assassin drew his hidden blades and blocked Andersons hit. Aucaman kicked Anderson in the gut, sending Anderson to the ground and losing his axe. Anderson flipped backward onto his feet and drew his pistol. The fast assassin slammed his fist into Andersons left rib cage. He gasped for air, his lungs clawing for air and his heart raged in a flurry of thirst.

Aucaman rammed the hidden blades on either of his arms through Anderson's chest. His wounds slurped and popped as he tried to breathe, to have it escape through the holes in his lungs. Blood soaked his clothes and in a dying moment his heart thudded for the final time.

'The age of the Templar is over, it's time for the assassin to return and show this imperium true peace and prosperity,' preached Aucaman

'We're doing just fine thanks.'

A long golden sword crunched through Aucaman from behind. Aucaman gargled and coughed as his blood bubbled around his mouth. The sword pulled back causing Aucaman to crumple. Master Grissom stood in his white vest with a large Templar cross taking up the front and a boiled leather belt around his waist. A squad of Alliance medics tended to Anderson, one lifted him onto a stretcher and another checked his heartbeat.

'He's dead sir.'

'Get him on a breather and restart his heart; we can't lose him.'

The bright lights burned like suns in Anderson's eyes and his chest throbbed with spikes of pain around his rib cage. The lights dulled but the pain consisted.

'He's regaining consciousness,' said Doctor Chakwas.

A young woman leant over him in a white lab coat and then Master Grissom's creased face came into view at Anderson's right.

'That was reckless, you could've got yourself killed,' harped Grissom.

'If you don't mind sir, I'd like to hold off on the de-brief,' mumbled Anderson.

'Don't worry. I'll give you the kicking you deserve when you're back on your feet,' smiled Master Grissom.

'Thank you sir. I'm looking forward to it.'

1 week of recovery

'Well if it isn't suicide Marshall himself,' chuckled Grissom.

Anderson forced a smile and sat down across the desk from Grissom. His legs were weak and his arms were uncoordinated, something had broken his body's coordination.

'Good morning sir.'

'You do realize I should have you have you hauling logs in an Animus sim right now.'

'Actually I'm curious why I'm not. I feel completely uncoordinated.'

'Your heart stopped. Most of your extremities were starved of oxygen for nearly a minute. A little Animus training and we'll have you back in the hunt soon enough.'

There wasn't a single person in the alliance who liked the Animi training program. The reality of the simulations was unbelievable. However in order to get his body back in form he would have to work harder than ever.

'But on a serious note. That was truly reckless and outright stupid what you did.'

'Not a total waste though.'

'No. You managed to eradicate the key Cerberus leaders on Raguel.'

Grissom pulled a drawer and produced a grey folder with [**CONFEDENTIAL**] stamped across it. Grissom handed it to Anderson with a cheeky grin on his face.

'The second fleet is being called to the Castellus system in the Apien crest.'

'Never heard of it.'

'I wouldn't expect you would have. 12 hours ago the SSV Arcaragua whilst activating a dormant relay came under attack by a small ship owned by a humanoid species called the Turians,' explained Grissom.

'A real living alien race?'

Anderson looked at the images of the scaled humanoid aliens in their oddly shaped suits of armor.

'Yes. A Prothean data worm recovered a flash copy of the ships data core, once it was unpacked and translated we learned quite a bit about these Turian folk. They hail from a planet they call Palaven in the Trebia system.'

'What are we doing in the Castellus system anyway?'

'We're going to knock on the Turians front door.'


	3. Turian

Trebia system, Palaven, Cipritine

The walled in city of Cipritine towered into the sky like a pyramid, buildings growing size from the out skirts to the tallest spire in the center. The Primarchs of Palaven and the Turian colonies sat around a massive oval table. Their mandibles twitched as they spoke to one another and their metallic exoskeleton moved with them like organic body armor. Primarch Fedorian locked his two three fingered hands together and straightened his back. As Primarch of Cipritine he was authorized to lead this discussion. Admiral Irix Coronati and another armored Turian sat at the end of the table in silence.

'This meeting will come to order!' yelled Fedorian.

The room fell silent as everyone focused on Fedorian. Primarch Fedorian had amassed himself a revered reputation; the only thing he was guilty of was being a born leader.

'This emergency council has been called in light of recent events at relay 314. Approximately 19 hours ago the Vibirian encountered an excessively large ship activating relay 314, an unmapped relay. I'll let the ships commanding officer, Commander Aetdros, explain the rest.'

The Primarchs along the table all turned their heads to the Commander and the Admiral sitting beside him.

'Firstly I have a question. Why was a cruiser out in the middle of nowhere?' asked one of the Primarchs.

'The Vibirian was searching the system for a reported Krogan insurgence base. We assigned a cruiser for the assignment on the premise that it could seek out the base and destroy it. If we had dispatched a scout frigate we would' then had to called in the cruiser,' explained the Admiral.

'Thank you for clearing that up Admiral. Let us continue, Commander.'

The Commander nodded and leant forward in his chair. His long and thick fingers tapped on the table as his nerves nagged at him.

'There was a massive energy cloud on the outer rim of the system. The ship is thought to have come from the cloud but my navigations officer neglected to mention it. He raised the alarm as they began to activate the relay. I acted on pure instinct and ordered a strike on the ship in light of the Rachni incident.'

The Commander realized the error of his ways now, the ship was far too large and shouldn't have been attacked without notifying his superiors first; he was simply afraid. Turians were taught not to fear anything, but the dark almost invisible hull of the ship seemed to emanate power and domination.

'Upon attack the ship just sat there, not doing anything. Then it suddenly sprang to life and jumped through the relay. It was a primary relay, capable of jumping to multiple locations so we did not pursue it in case of endangering ourselves.

Admiral Coronati placed one of his fingers to a small oval hole behind metallic exoskeleton covering his faced and his mandibles twitched.

Captain Aetnius stood on the bridge of the Dreadnought class ship Procunus looking over Palaven. Its lush green continents and its navy blue oceans seemed all too beautiful from above. On the surface the radiation caused by Palaven's weak magnetic field, caused the planets flora and fauna to develop metallic carapaces to protect themselves against it; just like the Turians. The circle bridge centered on a massive cauldron like holo-table with Palaven projected over it and the battle groups throughout the system.

'Sir, I'm picking up unusual energy signature on the other side of the planet,' announced the navigations officer.

Aetnius walked over to the Lieutenants station and looked over his shoulder at the orange holographic console.

'Do a full sensor sweep, in the meantime…'

'Wait, I'm detecting 60 ship size heat signatures in far orbit.'

'What?'

Aetnius was nearly knocked over by shock. No race had ever dared enter the Tebia system due to the immense amount of Turian military force in the system.

'Are you sure?'

'Positive sir.'

'Impossible. How did they get here without using the Mass relay?'

'Sir, we're being hailed.'

Aetnius looked at the projection of Palaven and the new signatures on the far side of the planet. His mandibles twitched in a sudden splurge of amusement.

'Put them through.'

'Turian Empire. This is Master Jon Grissom of the Templar order, we mean you no harm; please respond.'

'Patch the fleet in,' instructed.

He let the message play over a few times as his Omni tool processed the language and applied it so he could respond. His Omni tool connected to the ships outgoing wave length and translated his voice into English.

'I don't know what you want. But you have committed an act of war against the Turian.'

The Admiral was surprised at the accuracy of the Omni-tools translation software, its ability to translate alien languages was amazing.

'You speak English? I can assure you I have no intention of starting a war. As a matter of fact I would like to request formal negotiations for an alliance between our people,' replied Grissom.

'It is above my authority to grant such a request, I will need a moment to consult my superiors.'

'Take all the time you need.'

The channel was severed by Master Grissom and the bridge fell silent again. None of the Turians wavered in their duties, the first contact between their races didn't seem to faze them.

'I want that fleet surrounded, I want us weapons to bare as soon as possible. Comms, get me a link to Admiral Coronati.'

Admiral Coronati held one of his fingers to the circular device on the side of his head and Captain Aetnius' voice erupted into his ear.

'Admiral, sir. An alien fleet just dropped out of FTL in orbit around Palaven calling themselves Templars. Their requesting negotiations, should we engage?'

Coronati stood up out of his chair and the meeting suddenly fell silent as attention was drawn to him.

'Stand by.'

'Admiral, what is the matter?' asked Primarch Fedorian.

'An alien fleet just magically appeared in orbit around Palaven and are requesting negotiations. Do you want us to engage?'

The Primarch hesitated a moment, it seemed impossible that a fleet could just materialize over Palaven like it was magic.

'No. These might be the people our young Commander attacked. Bring their envoy aboard the Procunus under heavy guard, we will begin negotiations there.'

'Captain Aetnius. Do not engage. Tell them to send their envoy and put him under heavy guard, me and Primarch Fedorian are on our way.'

The meeting adjourned and the Admiral accompanied by Primarch Fedorian boarded a shuttle to meet the Templar envoy aboard the Procunus. The last time Turians made first contact with a species they became the military juggernaut responsible for protecting the crown jewel of the intergalactic community; the Citadel.

'How did this happen?' wondered the Primarch.

'I wish I could tell you, sir. According to Captain Aetnius they just appeared as if like magic,' explained the Admiral.

'Magic? Or very advanced FTL drives?'

'Maybe the two can go together,' chuckled the Admiral.

Master Grissom sat at a table on the aft cargo bay of the Procunus, surrounded by armed Turian guards; glaring at him like he was a free meal. The elevator at the end of the bay hissed open to reveal the Primarch and Admiral. The Turian guards straightened their stance as the two superior Turians marched onto the deck. The Primarch sat down across the table from Grissom and Grissom leaned back with a quirky smile on his face.

'You look a lot different than I expected,' began Grissom.

The Primarch tapped at his Omni tool, applying the translator to his voice. Grissom suddenly realize they were using some kind of translator and chuckled.

'How did you picture us?'

'Feathers and pink skin.'

'You're quite brave to attack us at home, you're lucky I'm a patient man.'

'You're the ones who attacked us. I'm merely her to negotiate an alliance.'

The Turian Primarch sighed as his mandibles convulsed, his blue eyes glared around the room as he produced a small steel framed piece of glass and handed it to Grissom.

'We cannot enter into an alliance with such a careless race. You seriously endangered your people just by being here. For now take this codex and be on your way.'

'Bad decision.'

Grissom placed the codex on a wide leather pouch on the rear of his belt and stood up. His sudden movement caused the Turian guards to bring their weapons to bare on Grissom. The Primarch wasn't stupid enough to tell them to put their weapons down but he didn't know Grissom well enough to predict his next move.

'Thank you. I have what I came for.'

Grissom in one swift motion throw down a smoke pellet and enveloped himself in an impenetrable shroud of smoke. His vision switched to heat as the Turians fired off rounds blindly, trying to Grissom as he tore them down with his gold precursor blade. The smoke cleared and Fedorian stood alone, surrounded by his fallen Turian brothers.

'What is this?' he muttered.

'Submit or be obliterated. That is your choice.'

'You played me.'

'Yes I did. And now I have all the information I need to bring the rest of the galaxy to their knees as well.'

'How. You don't know anything about us.'

'You just handed me the key. Your codex.'

Primarch Fedorian sighed and shuddered in his stupidity. He was too quick to trust him and paid the price.

'We out number you 4 to 1, there is no way you can win.'

'Not all of my ships made the jump here, 15 Mualim class ships are waiting on the other side of that mass relay, accompanied by a fortress ship.'

'Even so. There are nearly 200 hundred ships here and five of them are dreadnoughts.'

'I don't think you understand. A Mualim destroyer is 5 kilometers long over ten times bigger than your largest dreadnought. Our fortress ship is nearly 15 kilometers long and armed with hundreds of fusion missiles and several arc banks.'

Grissom grabbed Fedorian by the arm and guided him down the cargo bay.

'This is Grissom, Officer Reid I am ready for evac.'

'Primarch Fedorian has been captured, he is believed to be on board one of the enemy ships, cease fire.'

The Turian fleet suddenly ceased fire as they received the order and the Templar fleet sat in the middle of the massive armada.

'We've lost the Thames and Montgomery but otherwise the fleet is intact.'

Masters Grissom and Drescher stood on the bridge of the Arcaragua with Reid and Primarch Fedorian. The crew had been changed into their battle armor. The grey titanium armor bore the Templar cross across its dorsal chest and torso plating. Reid and the masters wore their ceremonial Templar robes, white cloaks and thin crimson body armor underneath.

'We're being hailed.'

'Put them through.'

The screens lining Bessel above the viewport showed the image of a battered Admiral Coronati.

'Admiral Coronati, what can I do for you?' asked Grissom with a smirk.

'Hand over the Primarch and we'll let you leave.'

'We both know that isn't how this will pan out.'

'We have no need to be enemies.'

'This is bigger than you. Bigger than your Primarch, bigger than our social status,' preached Drescher.

Suddenly the pilot and navigation officer both gave the thumbs up over their shoulders, Grissom and Reid smiled at the sign. The channel suddenly ceased and Drescher leaned against the holo-table.

'Cells 3 and 4 cover our flank, 1 and 2 cover our Bowe and aft. It's running gauntlet to the relay.'

The fleet began to move and the cells made a rough square perimeter around the Arcaragua. Admiral Coronati expected Fedorian to be on the center ship and began focusing the fleet's fire on the ships surrounding it. The smaller human fleet of nimble ships maneuvered through the blockade and began accelerating to near light speed in order to reach the relay.

'All ships pursue that fleet, do not fire on the central ship!'

The dreadnoughts broadside cannons clunked as they fired a shotgun spray of projectiles, slamming into the energy shield of the Templar formation. The frigates hummed ahead of the Turian fleet, firing off rapid shots in sync on the rear line. Cruisers fired their main guns along the wing like struts protruding from the sides of the ship.

The massive shock on the ships' took its toll. The black glossy hull creaked and moaned like a lost whale. The hulls split and warped to the point of implosion.

'Frigates. Get in close and take out their engines,' ordered the Admiral.

The small, nimble frigates fell in behind the escaping fleet and fired at the glowing orange exhaust. The impacts of the frigates rounds revealed the hexagonal pattern of the fleet's shields'.

'Master Drescher, the fleet is green for FTL,' informed the pilot of the Arcaragua.

'Jump the fleet.'

The fleets FTL drives' whined as they powered up. The Turian frigates began to rattle and crack as they came closer. Before they were able to veer off the human fleet made a joint FTL jump, warping the Turian frigates into floating collections of bodies and mangled ships.

Sol system, Earth, New Eden

The rebuilt Eden facility sat on the ruins of the assassin stronghold Masyaf. The great tungsten wall that surrounded the city opened up at a wide bitumen road as the roaring convoy whirred through and it sealed itself again behind them.

'Your planet is quite beautiful,' sighed Fedorian.

'Yes it is. Not quite as beautiful as Sariel,' replied Reid.

'What's Sariel?'

'One of the seven colonies. Its grass is yellow and the dirt is red. Many have come to call it Pyro, meaning fire.'

'You have colonies? We have many of the relays in the galaxy catalogued and we've never encountered them.'

'Our colonies are not on the relays. We colonize planets in systems away from mass relays in case of encountering a race like you, one that relies on mass relays to travel.'

'Very smart. I have noticed your FTL drives are far more superior to ours.'

The convoy came to a stop and the rear doors of the transport creaked open. Reid escorted the cuffed Fedorian into the bright and dry land outside. Anderson stood at the entrance of the facility with his hands behind his back and his chest pushed out. Reid suddenly felt a weight fall over him and his lack of formality was whisked away. He straightened as they approached him and Fedorian glared at the dark skinned Anderson.

'Officer Reid. Pleasure to see you again,' greeted a seemingly bubbly Anderson.

'Likewise sir.'

'How is the Primarch?'

'In remarkably good spirits. A tough race.'

'Quite so.'

They continued into the facility without saying anything further. The massive interior of the main tower centered on a large cargo elevator at the center. They entered the elevator and the pressure doors sealed with a hiss and began to descend through the earth's crust. The elevator surpassed the layer of dense rock and entered into a large open cavern. As the elevator hit the bottom a long walkway stretched to a central circle platform.

'What is this place?' asked Fedorian.

'This is Vault A1, where we store the most sacred of humanities artifacts.'

'Why bring me here?'

'Because there is something that isn't human in here.'

When they reached the center of the cavern a holographic console lit up at Anderson's right. He put in a pass code and the console evaporated into nothing. The path leading off to the left extended onto a rock face. As the console evaporated the rock face grinded open to reveal a large room. Upon entrance the centerpiece of the room makes its presence known. A massive rock carving, its color deviation from the rest of the cavern suggested it didn't originate here.

'Ring any bells?'

Fedorian looked in awe at the massive carving and couldn't fathom the words to describe its enormity. Its body originated at a flattened top and ended at a splurge of thick clawing tendrils. The tendrils seemed to act like massive arms, holding itself up.

'What is that?'

'It was carved about 50,000 years ago. Originally people thought it was a squid but it only has four legs…'

'Squid?' asked Fedorian.

'An aquatic species here on Earth.'

Suddenly Reid gasped and his stomach lurched with pain. His head flopped down to show him the tip of a blade sticking out of his torso with blood soaking his white shirt. The blade slid out and he crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. His mouth filled with blood as he coughed and spluttered. The pain turned into con fusion as Anderson knelt down beside him cleaning his hidden blade.

'W…why?'

'Because you're on the wrong side.'

In his dying moments Reid realized why Anderson did what he did; he was an assassin. A traitor imbedded within the alliance ranks to learn how they worked. Reid had nothing to preach about as he slipped into the darkness; no wife, no children and no friends.

'What the…'

'My name is Anderson. I'm with the assassin's guild, I'm going to return you to your people.'

As Anderson began to undo Fedorian's cuffs a sudden clang of metal boots hit the floor. Anderson spun around to look out behind him to see nothing.

'What was that?'

'Quiet.'

The tap of footsteps swept around the room, staying out of sight. Anderson strained his eyes to try and find him but couldn't see where he was. Suddenly a cold fist crunched into his right cheekbone, sending him to the floor. Pain exploded across the side of his face as he let out a muffled scream. Fedorian stumbled into a fall as the tall and broad figure looked over the fallen Anderson.

'Who are you?'

The cloaked ma picked the bloodied Reid up off the floor and Anderson caught sight of two more men at the entrance; Masters Grissom and Hackett.

'Very disappointing Mr Anderson,' growled Hackett.

'How did you know?'

'Your sudden interest in the codex Fedorian gave me was a hint. But when you offered to escort him and Mr. Reid I knew exactly what you were doing. That's why Shepard was here waiting for you.'

Shepard removed his hood to reveal the stubble around his jaw and the short stumps of hair on his head. Shepard placed an orange bandage of the exit wound and it pulled it together, he laid Reid on his stomach and felt around the wound on his back.

'The stomachs been punctured. We need to get him to a doctor right away.'

'Doctor Chakwas is waiting up stairs. When you're done, report to me. You're taking command of the Normandy.'

Shepard sprinted from the room with Reid in his arms, leaving the two masters, Anderson and Fedorian to talk things over. Hackett drew his hidden blade and placed the tip of it on the center of Anderson's chest.

'I wish you all the best in the beyond Mr. Anderson.'

Hackett pushed the blade through Anderson's chest and the once respected Marshall quietly rasped until his body shut down and his arms went limp. Hackett turned to face the expressionless Fedorian.

'Primarch Fedorian. I will ask you once. Do you know what that is?' asked Hackett pointing to the strange sculpture.

'No. It isn't like anything I have seen before.'

Hackett glared at the glassy eyes of Primarch Fedorian, as if searching his unmoving face for something.

'Unfortunate.'

'What just happened? Why did you kill Anderson?' asked Fedorian.

'For generations the assassin have been killing powerful world leaders in order restore their idea of equality.'

Hackett and Grissom escorted Fedorian out of the room and closed it behind them and then entering into the cargo elevator.

'And you?'

'We are known to the assassins as Templars. Publicly we are the Systems Alliance, the governing body both politically and militarily,' continued Grissom.

The cargo elevator stopped at the entry level and as the doors hissed open to reveal a concerned looking soldier in his black armor and cloak.

'How is Officer Reid?' asked Fedorian.

'He will live, but he will never be the same.' replied Shepard.

They left the building and entered onto the road, lined with a new convoy with tighter security and heavier vehicles.

'Listen. I don't know what that thing was in there but you should take this to the council, I will be your envoy if needed,' said Fedorian.

'That is no longer our main priority. The assassins are becoming bold and they need to be reminded of where they belong…'

'Masters! Wait!' cried a voice from behind them.

A young man in white and crimson armor jogged up to Hackett and handed him a thin piece of black glass and the expression on his face soured.

'The assassins have just made an official declaration to the public. They've declared war on the Alliance.'


	4. Assassin

Unknown system, Unknown location

'Aucaman's death is a minor setback, we continue as planned,' the mysterious man's voice seemed eerie.

The massive star beyond the glass dome shifted like a spherical sea of colors. The ominous male sat in his arched chair, surrounded by holographic projections and a cigarette between his left index and middle fingers. A cloaked woman stood behind him looking at the back of his head.

'What about Anderson? He was a valuable asset, and the closest person we had to Fedorian.'

'We need to concentrate on gaining a stronghold. Sariel is the only colony within an FTL jump of a mass relay.'

After their securing of power on Earth the Templars hoarded all Precursor technology in order to keep it from falling into assassin hands. When Cerberus was formed their main goal was to steal schematics and designs for Precursor jump cores and shield rings. However the targets were always being moved from location aboard a ship. Ever since Cerberus had to make do with designs from the Prothean archive.

'Our bureau there will need to be reinforced if we're going to take down the Sariel government' she replied.

'We're not. Our objective is the data stack below the capital city.'

Ever since the colonization of Gabriel, the first human extra-solar colony, all of the seven colony have a data stack beneath their capital. A data stack has a history of humanity and acts as the cities super intendant, documenting births, deaths, divorces and even business meetings right across the planet. As the data stack gathers new data it is instantly downloaded at the main hub below the Grand temple on Earth to be archived.

'What makes you think that the schematics will be on Sariel?'

'One of my personal operatives discovered a secret testing facility in the silver mountain range. The flaw in the Templars plan is that all data collated is immediately extracted by the data stack and archived.'

'The data is bound to have hundreds of firewalls on it. Not even the best cracker in Cerberus could get through them.'

'I've forwarded you a program that should help you with that. Get the job done Miss Lawson, I'm counting on you.'

The transmission severed and suddenly she re-appeared in her ships Comms room with a bewildered look on her face. She held her left arm up and a red omni-tool appeared over her hand and forearm. She checked the file sent through by the illusive man to see it was encrypted in a strange language. Suddenly the runes familiarized with her.

'It's Prothean.'

Utopia system, Sariel, New Chernobyl

New Chernobyl was far different to its eradiated counterpart on Earth. Ironically New Chernobyl receives its power from a large nuclear fusion reactor, much more advanced than the one that went into Meltdown in old Chernobyl. New Chernobyl and Sariel as a whole is the foremost exporter of Uranium and thermo-nuclear arms for the Alliance navy. Thermo-nuclear devices such as splitters are used to split large asteroids into smaller collectible pieces for mining. However much larger devices such as the Titan variation are used to crack open moons or lay waste to planets during war time. Cerberus had begun taking over major exporters of such arms and hoarding them for themselves, faking the transactions and injecting money back into the colony.

Miranda stood on the rounded platform looking out at the snow falling on the grey stone slopes of the mountain range. Behind her a large circular room beeped and blipped, centering on a large square, mapping table. The consoles around the table were mounted to the wall and crew stood at them, looking at Intel reports and market details. Her Omni-tool sounded and she looked at to see an incoming message from the illusive man. She pointed the Omni tool at a disk on the floor and the hologram of a man in a square cut suit materialized.

'Mentor Lawson. I'm just calling in to confirm that we will go ahead on this operation.'

'Of course. I'm just waiting for the right time.'

'What's your angle?'

'The tourist industry has opened up the data stack as a tourist attraction. We will infiltrate it by portraying ourselves as interested tourists.'

'Good, I like it. You will have to make a hard link with the data stack in order to upload the file.'

'What exactly does this file do?'

'You'll find out soon enough.'

The Illusive man severed the connection and Miranda stood silent, looking at a blank wall. She sighed and walked across to the mapping table. As she smacked her fist against the end of the table an image of a low lying city centered on a tall tower. A large cube structure sat below the tower, the data stack. A series of halls coiled around it like a massive spiral stair case. Massive tubular cables sprouted from the top connecting it to the data-archive network. The stack couldn't access Assassin Bureau files because they were off the grid. The super intendant of the stack used power cables or any connections to public property to gather information. All Bureaus used independent power sources and isolated computer hubs.

'Where's Jacob?'

The door leading into the room parted at the center and retracted into the walls to reveal a man in a white one piece suit standing on the other side. He had a sidearm holstered on a brown leather belt over the top of a crimson sash around his waist.

'Right here,' he smiled.

He walked up to the opposite end of the table and looked at the map with his shimmering brown eyes and rubbed his bald head.

'About time you got back.'

'Took a little longer than I expected. The first tour is going ahead at 10:15 this morning. Security is air tight, guards posted every meter and Abstergo security systems I haven't seen before,' reported Jacob.

'Lucinda has secured a getaway vehicle on the Northside of the tower and the rest of her team are on watch.'

'Alright then. Let's get into some less obvious clothes.'

Theta team, looking over the base of the tower

Lucinda sat on the edge of the building's roof, squinting down the scope of her rifle. The base of the tower was cordoned off by a tall reinforced wall. The commercial entrance was a hall leading from a shorter building across the street. Commercial workers underwent customs every working day on entry and exit. On occasion an Alliance representative visits with a maintenance team to make sure the data stack is in good working order.

'All clear on the Northside,' she said holding a finger to her right ear.

'Copy. Nothing out of the ordinary on the south either,' reported Jensen.

'Same in the west,' said Liam.

'And east,' said Rebecca.

Lucinda chuckled at the sound off. Nothing was going to change in a public venue like this. It wasn't some heavily guarded fortress the Templars built in the middle of nowhere, it was a public building under the banner of the alliance.

'So Jensen, how are you and that Brenda chick going?' asked Liam over the comm.

'Not bad. We're going to see a movie tonight actually.'

'Really; which one?'

'Scarlett rose.'

'Oh dear lord,' sighed Liam.

'What! It's a good movie.'

'You are so whipped.'

Suddenly the comm channels crackled and screeched. The screech faded into silence, returning the channels back to normal.

'What the hell was that?' asked Rebecca.

'Don't know, probably just some random interference,' replied Lucinda.

She checked her watch, 10:13am, she looked through the scope of her rifle at the road below her to see Miranda and Jacob getting out of a red and blue vehicle.

'Look alive. Birds are approaching the nest.'

She watched the hardly recognizable pair of assassins walk up to a group of tourists waiting to go in. A small door at the right of the main gate opened and they began to move through as guards checked their passes. The guards checked Miranda and Jacobs passes and showed them through the doorway. Lucinda's ear piece crackled and screeched again and within the screech she could hear a faint voice.

'This is…Everest…Attack…Unknown…Help.'

The voice was distorted with static and the recognition software couldn't recognize the voice. Lucinda knew that the small three ship defense fleet in orbit was led by the SSV Everest. Attack? Were they under attack, what was going on?

Soon the answer came from the sky. The building began to shake and she rolled off the edge onto her back. The deafening rumble grew louder as clusters of flaming debris tumbled through the sky. Large hunks smashed into buildings, exploding in plumes of black smoke and raging flames.

'Everyone retreat to the getaway car, move!' she cried.

She gripped her rifle tight and dived off the side of the building. She pulled a grappler from her belt and slowly spun around to fire it through a window. The spearhead at the end of the wire punctured a pylon and dug in with small spikes. Lucinda slowed down slowly lowered herself to the ground. People swarmed through the streets in fear; screaming and crying. A cluster of small winged pods hummed towards her and fired off a volley of shots, laying waste to the street and their getaway vehicle. She was pushed back through a window and into a store front.

The rest of the team arrived, they picked her up and brushed the glass off her.

'God damn it,' she moaned.

'What the hell is going on?' asked Liam.

'I don't know, we need to get to Mentor Lawson and Jacob. Let's move.'

She held the butt of the rifle up against her shoulder and led the squad out into the street. The strange fighters continued bombing runs across the city as more arrived. The cities anti-air defenses came online and began targeting the fighters with very little success.

'They're not Templar, so who are they?' wondered Rebecca.

'I haven't got a clue.'

They reached the door and Lucinda fired a round through its dated lock and it swung open. A squad of soldiers were scattered through the yard, looking up at the sky. The falling debris slammed into the city like massive projectiles. A series of smaller debris rammed into the tower above, creating more debris that came speeding down towards them. Lucinda and her squad fired off silenced shots, taking the soldiers out silently and quickly.

'Let's move!' cried Lucinda.

They sprinted for an access at the base of the tower. Jensen fired an explosive round into the door so the team could run straight in. The wreckage dug into the ground with an almighty boom and a pressure ring explode from the impact. The team dove inside for cover as the ring of pressure blew through. Dust hung in the air, making it impossible to see.

'Sound off!' yelled Lucinda

Everyone sounded off and as the dust settled their grey and brown silhouettes rose from the floor.

'All in one piece?'

'By the looks of things.'

They brushed themselves off and looked around the dark room. Lucinda activated the torch on her rifle as the others did the same.

'Mentor Lawson! Are you in here?' cried Lucinda.

'We should move down towards the data stack,' said Jensen.

'Agreed.'

They moved through a checkpoint and descended down a flight of stairs to another checkpoint, guarded by three soldiers.

'Hey. Freeze…!'

They fell as small chunks of metal punctured their chests. They continued onto the heavy bulkhead door that led into the data stack.

'How the hell are we getting in there?' asked Liam.

'It looks like a standard code and hand print lock, I should be able to bypass it,' said Rebecca.

'Get to it then.'

Rebecca activated her Omni-tool and began decrypting the locks code. Lucinda and the rest of the squad looked around in anticipation. The sound of gunfire echoed outside and explosions ripped through the room.

'But seriously, Scarlett rose?' asked Liam.

Suddenly it hit Jensen, he had left Brenda out there alone in the middle of an invasion.

'Lucinda Brenda's out there alone, I to need find her,' said Jensen.

'We all have loved ones out there Jensen. We need to do our jobs.'

'Lucinda please,' he moaned.

'Stow it Jensen. You're a Cerberus operative, our job is paramount to family!'

Lucinda grabbed Jensen by the chest plate of his armor and pulled her face closer to his. His eyes became glassy and tears began to well. Lucinda pushed him away and she returned to looking around the room. Rebecca's Omni-tool cracked the code and moved onto the hand print scanner. It isolated the individual finger prints and collated them with the alliance database in order to find the matching palm print. As it received the correct print it activated the scanner to scan the prints and the door hissed open.

'That's it!' cried Rebecca.

Lucinda and the others turned to see the massive door open. With her back turned Jensen saw his chance to get away. He sprinted away from the squad as fast as her could. Lucinda caught him out of the corner of her eye. She spun around and aimed her rifle towards him but he escaped her sight.

'Should I go after him?' asked Liam.

'Don't bother.'

They moved into the data stack with their rifles raised. Two guards fell to the floor like sacks of potatoes as the squad moved down the sloped walkway.

'Agent Cross!' cried Miranda.

Their ears twitched at the sound of her voice.

'Mentor Lawson! Where are you?' asked Lucinda.

'At the base of the data stack, we have wounded, is your medic with you?'

'Yes, Liam's here.'

They sprinted down another 3 spiraled halls alongside the tall and metallic data stack before reaching Miranda and Jacob. The group of civilians they came in with sat up against the wall, a few of them had minor scratches and cuts across the body but two of them were being tended by Jacob.

'Jacob, what have we got?' asked Liam.

'One has a broken leg and the other is having trouble breathing.'

Rebecca stood at the entrance to the base on guard in case anyone came down the walkways. Lucinda stood at Miranda's side watching her operate the console.

'We've managed to recover the schematics, but the file wasn't just a virus,' said Miranda.

'What do you mean?'

'It was a Prothean artificial intelligence.'

Suddenly a strange looking humanoid hologram appeared; 'Hello, I am vigil.'


	5. Reid

_The clear blue skies of coastal America hung over the town of Boston. Bells rang in the harbor and horses naiad as they trotted by. _

_ 'Such a beautiful city.'_

_He looked to his right to see Haythem staring out the window with him. He tied the lace on his white cloth shirt and pulled his hair back into a tail. _

_ 'Master Haythem, I did not see you there,' he said._

_ 'Don't you agree though Charles?'_

_ 'Yes, yes I do.'_

_ 'Don't be so placid. You must have your own opinion.'_

_ 'Well sir. I do rather like the prospect of living in Havana,' smiled Charles._

_His pale cheeks wrinkled as he smiled and he let out a slight chuckle. _

_ 'Havana. A little too humid for me I'm afraid.'_

_ 'It is certainly an acquired taste.'_

_Haythem smiled and turned around to buckle up his belt and holster his Persian rapier. He secured one of the hidden blades on his left forearm and shrugged into his dark red coat. A longer blue coat hung on the coat hook across the room with a hip length cape. _

_ 'Going somewhere sir?'_

'_I have a meeting with Mr. Pitcairn. I will likely be gone all day, make sure Hickey behaves himself.'_

'_Don't worry sir, I'll keep him in line.'_

_Haythem nestled his tri-hat on his head and descended down the creaking flight of stairs. He entered into a busy Boston street, stalls lined the sides and people strolled up and down. Patriot soldiers patrolled in squads of six around Boston, responsible for keeping the peace. The streets turned into a long stretch of markets as Haythem approached the harbor. Tall masts loomed over head and drunk fisherman moped around like primates. The stench of fish stung his nostrils and the screech of gulls rang in his ears._

_ 'Master Kenway!' cried Pitcairn._

_He stood at a stall looking at a crate of fresh fish. Haythem frowned at Pitcairn's calling, after what happened to Johnson he should be more careful._

'_I suggest you tighten your lips Mr. Pitcairn, you would be no use as a dead man,' advised Haythem. _

'_Sorry. What do you think, Striper or Atlantic salmon?'_

'_I'm not here to discuss fish. I am here to discuss the war effort,' said Haythem moving him away from the stall._

'_Yes, of course.'_

_They walked onto a quiet dock near the Bowe of a British frigate. The revolution was a war Haythem needed to win in order to keep control of the colonies. With Pitcairn as the leader of the continental army he needed to keep up to date with occurrences on the front lines._

_ 'Your son is right royal pain in my ass,' snarled Pitcairn._

_ 'It seems he has a knack for it.'_

'_General Howe has successfully retaken New York with little resistance but we are still at a loss here in Boston.'_

'_Boston is our main priority. I want to see red coats walking the streets by the end of the year.'_

'_I'll get a letter off to him today.'_

'_I want you to tell him in person. We cannot risk that message falling into the wrong hands.'_

'_Very well. I will ride out in the morning.'_

_Pitcairn and Haythem shook hands and parted ways. Haythem walked to the tavern on the main street of Boston, the place where the colonial rite officially began. Thomas Hickey and Charles Lee sat at an old wooden table on the taverns upper level. Hickey had a bottle of rum in his right hand and the other down the pants of a blonde prostitute._

_ 'You shouldn't be here Thomas,' snapped Haythem. _

_ 'I'll do wha' I like. Washington aint goin' nowhere.'_

_Thomas' thick Irish accent made him seem like a slurring bum. Despite his drunkard habits he was a good soldier and the closest man Haythem had to George Washington._

_ 'Maybe not but that doesn't mean you get to slack off.'_

_Hickey huffed and pushed the woman off his lap to stand up. He slammed the bottle of rum onto the table and stormed down the flight of stairs. _

_ 'Such a strange boy,' sighed Charles._

_ 'He will learn. In time.'_

_Haythem sat down across the table from Charles and procured a letter from inside his coat. The letter was from the grand master of the British rite, Reginald Birch._

_ 'A letter? Might I ask who from?'_

_ 'Reginald Birch. An old friend of mine and the grand master of the British Templar rite.'_

_ 'An esteemed fellow.'_

_A muffled cry came from the distance. Haythem looked over his shoulder to see nothing but a blank wall. The muffled crying turned into barely recognizable words and with a swift jolt of his shoulders the old rotting tavern evaporated into a blurred white ceiling. _

'Reid get up, we're under attack!'

Reid gasped as his lungs returned to normal working capacity and his vision adjusted to bring the sterile room into focus. Newton pulled Reid out of his bed and dropped him into a wheelchair. Suddenly Reid noticed he couldn't feel his legs and the confusion started to lift. The room shook and dust fell from the cracking ceiling.

'Newton! What the hell is going on?'

'I don't know. But I need to get you out of here.'

Reid had never seen Newton in armor before, nor had he seen him so brave and determined. He pushed Reid along the shaking floor as fast as he could. They left though a wide doorway leading into a long corridor. As they got outside the nature of what was happening was clear. Reid recognized the pod like bombing craft darting overhead.

'The Turians.'

'What!'

'Those bombers are Turian.'

'We need to get out of here.'

Newton pushed Reid across the street and lifted him into the passenger seat of an armored car, floating off the ground. Its engine hummed as the sped up a decimated street. Reid's chest ached and the fused wound burned like a hot pan laid over it. A squadron of fighters sped passes them and as they saw the moving vehicle turned to pursue. Newton held his foot on the accelerator and swerved around as the fighters fired at them. Reid held on for dear life as the shots came closer.

'Shake them, damn it!'

A shot impacted on the left side of them. The car shook violently and fell into a barrel role. Newton and Reid were thrown around the compartment like a pair of rag dolls. They finally stopped when they slammed through the glass front of a shop and hit the back wall. Reid lapsed in and out of consciousness as Newton dragged him out of the wrecked car. He flung Reid of his shoulder and held his pistol in his left hand, ready for trouble.

Newton moved to the back of the shop and kicked down the rear door to enter into a parking lot full of burnt out cars.

'Damn it,' sighed Newton.

Newton laid Reid down against one of the charred wrecks and instantly recognized his eyes were open and faint blue streams flashed over his pupils.

**Boston, Massachusetts**  
**28th of June, 1776**

_Haythem stood behind the flocks of people cheering at the sight of a felon being brought to justice. He glanced to his right to see General Washington standing on a plateau atop a small flight of steps. His long blue and white clearly depicting his loyalty to the rebels cause and resentment of the British. He was more concerned about the man being brought to the noose by one Thomas Hickey. The man in stained brown clothes was a familiar one, his son. On the roof across the way a team of three assassins took down the guards patrolling along it. He smirked and reached into a pouch on his belt to produce a throwing knife._

'_Brothers. Sisters. Fellow Patriots. Several days ago we learned of a scheme so vile, so dastardly - that even repeating it now, disturbs my being. The man before you plotted to murder our much beloved General. Indeed. What darkness or madness moved him, none can say. And he himself offers no defense. Shows no remorse. And though we have begged and pleaded with him to share what he knows, he maintains a deadly silence. If the man will not explain himself - if he will not confess and atone - what other option do we have, but this? He sought to send us into the arms of the enemy. And thus, we are compelled by justice to send him from this world. May God have mercy on your soul?'_

_Charles Lee delivered the list of crimes supposedly committed by Haythem's son. Lee placed the noose around Connor's neck and tightened it. One of the Assassins on the roof drew a bow and arrow and aimed it towards Connor. As Lee pulled the lever and Connor whistled to signal his assassin archer to shoot; Haythem threw his knife towards the rope. The assassin's arrow missed its mark but Haythem's knife sliced through it, cutting Connor loose. The crowd scattered in screams and shrieks as Connor disappeared below the hanging platform. Hickey jumped off the platform, running towards the startled General Washington. Lee bolted in the opposite direction, blending in with the scared crowd. _

_Haythem moved back into the shadow of a door way. Connor sprang from the trapdoor with his tomahawk in hand in pursuit of Hickey. His assassin counterparts retreated from the roof and a crippled man hobbled away from the hanging platform. Haythem recognized him as Achilles Davenport, an assassin who had passed his time. Haythem thought of putting a flintlock shot between his shoulders but he suspected Achilles' time was coming to an end. _

_Washington ran away from the approaching assassin as he drew closer to the stumbling Hickey. Connors tomahawk slammed through Hickeys back and he fell to the ground. Connor proceeded to interrogate Hickey and eventually Israel Putnam and a squad of continental soldiers surrounded Connor. Haythem looked away and shook his head._

_ 'Damn hired hands.'_

Reid's hearing rang to life and his nostrils froze with an intake of cold air. Newton knelt behind the wreck, firing off fluorescent red bolts of energy from his pistol.

'Newton what the hell is going on?'

Newton ducked down, surprised to see Reid Lucid again.

'We've got a little Turian resistance down the way.'

Projectiles flew overhead and pinged off the framework of the burnt out car. As the projectiles stopped Newton peaked over and fired off a short burst of shots. Overhead a trio of Turian cruisers rumbled towards the center of the city. Reid looked up at them seemingly small ships and noticed a gleam coming from behind one of them. Over the pinging of gunfire the center cruiser buckled and exploded as a massive beam of energy smashed into its dorsal hull plating. Another two beams destroyed the other two, sending massive shockwaves across the city. An elongated ship with segmented wings at the rear fell through the explosions and slowed down dramatically to come to a slow approach towards the parking lot. Newton stood up from cover and killed the startled Turians. A cargo door under the belly of the ship began to fold down and Commander Shepard walked down the ramp followed by a team of medics. Newton picked Reid up and jogged towards the approaching Shepard.

'Get on board, we need to go. Now!'

Newton laid Reid down on the medic team's stretcher and they retreated back towards the cargo door acting as a ramp. A Turian soldiers exited the building Newton had crashed into and began to mass behind the wrecks. Shepard dropped the first three that came from the door and continued to suppress as many as he could whiles the medic team got on board.

'Commander, come on!'

The Turians shots diverted off Shepard's shield and dug into the concrete. As he reached the ramp a shot punctured his shield and flew straight through his thigh. Newton pulled him up the ramp, firing his pistol wildly as the ship backed off and the ramp began to raise up.

'Joker. Light'em up,' said Shepard over the ships comm.

'Aye, aye.'

As the ship moved backward and gained some altitude the large sphere impeded at the rear of the elongated ship shone green and a beam of energy smashed into the parking lot; incinerating the Turians. Shepard hobbled to his feet and followed the medics and Newton to the med bay.

'Doctor Chakwas? You're serving with the Commander now?'

Dr Chakwas examined Reid quickly and gave him a concerned look.

'Your animus implant is malfunctioning. Have you been experiencing any random simulations?'

'I have…Haythem Kenway. A distant ancestor.'

'Your implant must be specifically targeting those memories for some reason. You should be fine as long as you're conscious.'

The ship exited the atmosphere and entered into a raging space battle. Alliance vessels moved around the parameter of a large Turian armada and more ships jumped into positions around the Turians to block their escape. The Turian cruisers created a loosely assembled orb around their supposed dreadnoughts, giving them time to align their main cannons. The Turians were losing more ships than the Alliance and they were incapable of making an escape as they had used all their fuel getting here and the Mass relay was blockaded by another fleet of alliance ships.

Reid watched from the bridge, held up by mobility braces he stood at a small round holo-table with the battle projected over it. Shepard walked onto the bridge and stood up next to Reid.

'Master Hackett told me to give you these.'

Shepard placed a pair of crosses and a Templar ring into Reid's hands. His eyes lit up at the sight of the new uniform pieces he had been given.

'Congratulations…Master Reid.'

'All ships this is Hackett, the Turians have sounded their surrender; cease fire.'

The slaughter stopped almost instantaneously after Hackett's transmission. Shepard removed Reid's officer bars from his uniform and replaced them with the Templar crosses. Reid slid his ring on his finger and he clenched his fist, he'd done it; he became a master Templar.

1 hour later

'Negotiations are set to go ahead in the morning. For the mean time the Turians are being detained in this system.'

Shepard sat down in a leather chair across a coffee table from Reid and took a mouthful of whiskey from his glass.

'How is your leg?'

Shepard stopped in the middle of taking another sip of his drink. He and Reid hadn't seen each other for a long time, not since Shepard was a child. Why would Reid care about him? He never seemed to care before.

'Fine. Dr Chakwas said it'll heal up nicely.'

'Good. I'm glad.'

'Why do you care? I don't see you for ten years and now you're here asking me how I am.'

'It's my job to care.'

'Really is that why you abandoned me? The only reason I'm her is because of the N7 program.'

'I didn't abandon you. I kept you away from the dangers of space.'

'Good job, you did real good job at that, Dad.'


	6. Emergence

_Haythem sat at the end of the table in silence as Charles Lee sat at the other end, picking at his finger nails. Thomas had been killed by his own negligence and Pitcairn had been killed inside his own heavily guarded camp. Only Haythem and Charles Lee were what remained of the Templars Colonial rite. Benjamin Church had defected from the Templars and allied himself with the British army. _

_ 'What exactly are you going to do?' asked Lee _

_ 'I cannot hunt Church down on my own. It will take more than just me.'_

_ 'Then let me help you.'_

_ 'No! I need you here managing things, I will enlist someone else's assistance.'_

_Haythem stood up and walked down the stairs, followed closely by a confused Charles Lee._

_ 'But, sir. Everyone is dead, what can there be to manage?'_

_Haythem stopped abruptly at the foot of the stairs and turned to look up at Charles._

_ 'Just because a man loses his legs, it doesn't mean he is dead. He is just slowed down.'_

_Charles sighed and looked away from Haythem's powerful blue eyes. Haythem left the tavern and Charles strolled up to the bar where a man in a stained apron wiped out old pints. He flung the towel over his shoulder and held the pint under the valve of a beer barrel. He filled up the pint and placed it in front of Charles._

_ 'On the house.'_

_The branch creaked as Haythem landed. A platoon of soldiers marched beneath him with their rifles rested on their shoulders and a drummer pounding out a marching song. As the platoon passed by he climbed to a higher and longer limb to jump across the track. A run down church sat in a small clearing across the track, Benjamin Church's old base of operations. Creating an ambush for Church wasn't as simple as hiding behind a door. _

_Tracks in the snow could alert him to some-ones presence, Church wasn't easily fooled. Haythem hadn't been in the field for two years but the snowing grey forest was a familiar place. Growing up under the mentoring of Reginald Birch in tandem with his father gave him a grasp on both Templar and Assassin techniques. He could stay hidden and out of sight better than most assassins and was a better hand to hand combatant than most.  
_

_He pounced off of the limb and swung into the church through a window. The worn floor boards creaked as Haythem strolled through the one room church. Splintered wood and cut rope was sprawled across the room, like someone had left in a hurry. Haythem noticed a small recess above the entrance. He climbed up the wall and grabbed onto the ledge of the recess._

_ 'The trap is a foot Mr Church, your move.'_

Reid woke up lathered in sweat and his head pounding like a heartbeat. He pulled his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes. The clock on the chest of drawers beside his bed said it was 6:00am ship time. He grabbed his leg braces from under the bed and strapped them on. His animus implant had been damaged somehow and his dreams were being influenced by it. He pulled on a pair of trousers and stood up slowly. He buttoned up the jacket with his new rank pinned on it and grabbed his walking stick. The large window at the side of his quarters looked out over the colony of Gabriel. 

Gabriel was the first planet officially proclaimed a colony of Earth. Colonized by Abstergo Aeronautics Division (AAD). The capital, Enoch, is home to some 14 million people and is the wealthiest of the seven capitals. Gabriel is the second system in the Arcturus stream in the Procul system and supplies Arcturus station with all of its medical and food supplies.

'Master Reid. Master Hackett is on the communicator for you,' a female voice called over the intercom.

'Patch him through.'

Hackett appeared in front of the window looking back at Reid.

'Master Hackett, what can I do for you?'

'Master Reid, good to see you back on your feet. A few hours ago we lost contact with the recovery flotilla at Sariel.'

'How did we lose contact with the whole Flotilla?'

'That's what you need to find out. The last transmission said that they had discovered a Cerberus base in the mountain ranges outside of New Chernobyl.'

'We'll jump to Sariel straight away and send back what information we can. Reid out.'

Submit to the Empire. Submit or be obliterated.

The rune like words filled the screens on the console and a crackling deep voice echoed through the room's speakers.

'My god what have we done?'

'All species must submit to the Prothean Empire. Failure to comply will result in your obliteration.'

Lucinda rallied Liam and Rebecca and they began preparing to move out again.

'Vigil. What are you doing?' asked Miranda.

The shimmering green AI simply repeated the message it had been repeating for the last day or longer. The bulkhead at the top of the stack clunked and groaned as heavy metal fists pounded at it.

'They've found us.'

'Alright. Pack it up, we're moving,' ordered Jacob.

Lucinda and what remained of her squad loaded their rifles and secured their packs over their shoulders.

'Jacob. You don't give the orders,' snarled Miranda.

'I do today.'

Miranda tried to stare him down but Jacob wasn't one to submit like her previous second officers. Jacob was recommended to her by the Illusive Man after Jacob resigned from the Systems alliance. Jacob's Templar methods didn't sit well with Miranda but they were effective in most cases.

Jacob led them from the control room up the spiraling ramp to the thumping bulkhead. Vigil had assumed control of the planets defenses and security drones. Rebecca tapped the activation code into the console beside the bulkhead and it hissed open. As it opened outwards several security drones were revealed. Their skeletons broke apart as the projectiles slammed into them with resounding pings.

'We need to get to the hospital.'

They moved through the ground level and left the tower through the east exit and crossed the street into a narrow alley. They had mapped out several escape routes after the AI assumed control and began using the alley way as a path to the hospital. They had put their wounded in the hospital with Erobus team guarding them. The hospital took up a whole city block and stood 300 floors high. They entered the hospital through the front entrance and were met with nothing but silence.

No blockades were set up and no-one was guarding the door. The wounded were in the public ward on the main floor. They moved up the stairs past reception and gathered at the frosted sliding doors into the ward. They slid open to reveal a wall covered in blood. The team moved into the long hall running left and right to corridors running down either side of the ward.

'What's going on here?' wondered Rebecca.

Liam approached the blood stain and noticed some of the blood around the center was singed. The stain was a large spray, suggesting the person was shot rather than attacked with a blade. The singed blood also pointed to the use of energy weapons.

'The Alliance have been here. Some of the blood has been burnt by energy weapons fire.'

'Stay alert, they could still be here,' advised Miranda.

They split up. Miranda and Jacob went down the right hall and Lucinda went down the left hall with her squad. The long ward had four sliding doors lining each side and two at either end. Miranda and Jacob leaned against either side of the door frame as Lucinda and Rebecca did the same and Liam knelt down in front of the door. They hit the buttons to open the doors and stormed in. They were stopped by a foul stench. Scorched, melting corpses were littered across the room. Blood coated the floor in sweeping lines and the air stunk with burning flesh. At the end of the room a body lay limp against the wall, stuttering to itself, still alive.

'Jensen!'

His armor had been ripped off and a stab wound to his chest was visible. The wound was fresh and irreparable.

'Jensen, what happened?' asked Lucinda.

With his final heaves of life he pointed behind them. They turned around to see a man with an arc of hair over his lips and short black hair. Several other identical men emerged from the shadows to corner the group.

'My god. I thought you were all extinct.'

'You can't bend the will of a god,' replied the first man.

'What are they?' asked Rebecca.

'They're called the Sage, reincarnations of a precursor named Aita,' explained Miranda.

The group drew their handguns. Miranda and the others stood up and aimed their weapons at them, in a last ditch attempt to intimidate.

'Kill them!'

Reid leaned on his cane, looking down at the dead bodies. Four bodies, two female and two male. Three of them white and one black male, identified as Lieutenant Jacob Taylor.

'He defected in the early skirmishes with Cerberus. He served on the Hilton with his father,' explained Shepard.

He walked up to his father's side and handed him a data-pad. Reid read over Jacob's file with a slight nod. Jacob served under his father on the Hilton, a ship within the Second fleet. When he and his father were transferred to the Hugo Gernsback, Jacob defected for no apparent reason. He wounded his father and killed several alliance marines in his escape.

'What about the other one we found?'

'She's been taken aboard the Normandy, she'll live.'

'Good. Maybe she can tell us what happened here.'

Reid turned around in time to the screen beside one of the hospital beds begin flickering with static. Within the static the faint silhouette of a head faded in and out. Reid moved closer to hear a quiet voice.

'Submit to the empire. Submit or be obliterated,' echoed the voice.

Reid watched the silhouette transform into a familiar head. A diamond like head with three eyes lining both sides and a large human like mouth. A Prothean.

'Can we neutralize the AI?' asked Reid.

'It's isolated within the Stack's communication network, we should be able to erase it.'

Reid's heart suddenly exploded with pain. He doubled over, clutching at his chest. It was like a million nails had suddenly been driven though his heart. His vision blurred and he fell unconscious.

_The footsteps of a near silent hunter crept through the church. The footsteps didn't belong to Church, they were too quiet, too trained. Haythem suspected an assassin had come looking for the supplies Church had stolen for the British soldiers. Since Pitcairn's death and Church's little spark of patriotism, Haythem had cut ties with the British and hired mercenaries instead. _

_The footsteps stopped and a broad man climbed through the window in white and blue assassin robes, unaware of Haythem's presence. Haythem drew his hidden blade and leaped off the lip of the small recess. He struck with silence, sending the assassin to the floor. He turned him over and held the blade to his throat._

_His son? Connor had grown since Haythem had last seen him. Haythem has suspected the assassins would send someone to scope the church out but he never bargained on meeting his son._

_ 'Connor, any last words?'_

_ 'Wait,' struggled Connor._

_ 'Poor choice.'_

_Haythem drew back his blade as Connor pushed him away. Haythem returned for a second try and Connor repelled him yet again. Connor scrambled to his feet and they began to circle each other, like vultures above a carcass._

_ 'Come to check up on Church? To make sure he'd stolen enough for you British brothers!'_

_ 'Benjamin Church is no brother of mine, nor the redcoats or their idiot king.'_

_Connor looked at Haythem with disbelief, the assassins always had a limited grasp on what the Templar stood for. _

'_I expected naivety but this … the Templars don't fight for the crown, we seek the same as you boy: freedom, Justice, independence.'_

'_But…'_

'_But what?'_

'_Johnson, Pitcairn, Hickey. They sought to steal land, sack towns and murder George Washington.'_

'_Johnson sought to own land, so that we might keep it safe. Pitcairn aimed to encourage diplomacy which you, cocked up thoroughly enough to start a god damned war! And Hickey … George Washington has lost nearly every battle he has partaken in, the man is wrapped in uncertainty and insecurity. Look at valleyVforge and know my words are true.'_

_Connor stared at Haythem silently as if he were a piece of rotting wood, not worth a single thought; no good for anything._

'_Look, as much as I would love to spar with you, Benjamin Church's mouth is as big as his ego. You clearly want the supplies he has stolen and I want him punished; our interests are aligned.'_

'_So what do you propose?'_

'_A truce, Perhaps … Perhaps some time together might do us good. You are my son after all and may still be saved from your ignorance.'_

_Haythem held out his arm, his hidden blade protruding from his sleeve, 'Or I could kill you now if you prefer.'_

_Connor walked closer and stopped in front of Haythem, showing no signs of hostility. _

_ 'Excellent, shall we be off,' said Haythem retracting the blade and moving for the door._

_ 'Do you even know where Benjamin Church has gone?' asked Connor._

'_Unfortunately not. I had hoped to ambush him when he and his men returned here; obviously I was too late.'_

Shepard stood at the end of the bed talking with Dr Chakwas.

'What happened?' asked Shepard.

'Initial scans revealed several cancer nodes developing around his heart.'

'What can we do?'

'Not a great deal. I've given him some Immune boosters but other than that I can't do much for him.'

Shepard leaned on the bed, looking at his pale father. Reid's eyes opened and his lungs heaved as he regained consciousness.

'Connor!' cried Reid as he woke up.

Shepard looked him over with a frown, 'Who is Connor?' he asked.

'Connor … Connor Kenway. I've been seeing him in my dreams.'

'Actually their animus simulations. Remember what I told you, when your unconscious the animus implant takes over.'

'Alright. More to the point how are we going with the neutralization of the AI?'

'All done. You've been out for a good day or so. We're on our way back to Gabriel.'

Reid sat up in his bed and rested his forehead in his hand. He sighed as he realized something; who killed all those people?


	7. Alliances

**March 3****rd****, 2151  
Old city, Tuchanka**

The hulking body of Urdnot Krieg walked along the wrecked streets of what used to be one of Tuchanka's greatest cities. He stepped up to a console beside a ground bound entrance. He dialed in a code and the concrete slab slid back to reveal a staircase. As he passed the threshold, the slab retracted and he descended down the dimly lit stair case and entered into an open command center; filled with both Krogan and Human.

'Are you sure they won't find this base?' asked Krieg.

A Templar stood at the room's center, looking over strands of genetic code; among other things. His auburn was tied back in a tail and made large trimmed sideburns following his cheek bones.

'This base is completely secret, only the Templar know it exists.'

'Very well. Why did you summon me?'

'We've made great headway in the search for a cure.'

The genophage had been imposed on the Krogan after their aggressive expansion and volatile actions towards the rest of the galactic community. The Grand Master saw promise in them and ordered a small team to make contact. Despite a few turbulent encounters the Krogan have agreed to an alliance as long as we help them cure the genophage.

'How long before a cure can be made?'

'At our current progression we should have a prototype within a year.'

Healthy Krogan tissue was discovered in cryo-storage beneath a facility known to the Krogan as the shroud. Urdnot Kreig smiled at the astounding news. Their best scientists couldn't figure out the complexity of the genophage. In return for their assistance in curing the genophage the Krogan gave them what limited Intel they had on other galactic communities. The Salarian and Turian were points of interest. Turian were the greatest military in the galaxy and the Salarian were potentially the smartest.

'That is excellent news. You're one of the few people in this galaxy the Krogan can rely on.'

'When we cure this. We can begin discussing the terms of our alliance,' replied the Templar.

The entrance slid open again and a young cloaked man entered with a rifle cradled in his hands. He pulled back his hood to reveal his Caucasian complexion and thick black hair.

'Lieutenant Ried what do you have to report?

'Blood pack are blocking access to the complex,' said Reid.

'We need to clear that complex out if we are going to rebuild the city,' said Krieg.

'We need it for orbital defense. Take your team and clear out that complex so we can begin the restoration process.'

'Consider it cleared, sir.'

**July 4****th****, 2160  
The Citadel, Council chamber**

'This is a gross violation of council law, and uplifting the Krogan … that's just pure madness,' snarled the Turian councilor, Sparatus.

'Krogan were uplifted by the Salarians a long time ago to fight the Rachni. What is the difference now?' asked Goyle.

'That was an act of desperation. By curing the genophage you've brought an unstoppable force back,' argued the Salarian councilor, Valern.

'What gives you the right to condemn a species? The Krogan have been adopted into the systems alliance and are our responsibility.'

Anita Goyle had been allocated the position of diplomatic envoy to the citadel council and its client races. Being here made her sick to her stomach, the bureaucrats here were very complacent and contradictory; the council was a prime example. The Salarian were a very scientific inclined race but rejected the study of complex AI structures and genetic manipulation. The Asari a naturally biotic race that condemn the experimentation of biotic abilities beyond their own. The Turians, a military juggernaut that enforces the treaty of farixen that limits the amount of ships a species can produce.

'The Krogan are a very dangerous species. They must not be allowed to get out of hand,' advised the Asari councilor, Tevos.

'The Templar have assured me the Krogan will be allowed to colonise the Skillian verge and anywhere beyond that will need to be authorized.'

'How can you be sure? The Krogan are unpredictable.'

Goyle stepped aside as a greying man hobbled up the stairs on a walking stick. He wore his crimson coat over his greyed uniform.

'Admiral Reid?' wondered Sparatus.

Reid had been deemed unfit for duty after his last major heart surgery. His leg mobility was totally reliant on the braces and most of the time he was in a wheelchair. He was put in charge of the Templar science and research division, otherwise known as (SARD) to reduce the strain on his body.

'I don't care what you all think. Neither do the Alliance or my Templar brothers.'

'Well you should, this is a matter of galactic security!' growled Sparatus.

'The Krogan were angry only because you condemned them.'

'They condemned themselves.'

'Ambassador Goyle, the Normandy is waiting in docking bay D24.'

Reid gestured for to leave and with a slight nod she followed his advisement. The council were treading in Templar territory, a place they will regret going if they're not careful.

'I would advise that you all watch what you say in front of the Ambassador,' announced Reid.

The councilors looked at each other at the sudden change of topic. No species had questioned them as much nor harassed them like humanity.

'We will say what is needed to be said.'

'Then there is nothing else to be said.'

Reid turned around and hobbled away from a stunned council. Their power was obvious but Reid and his Templar counter parts seemed to ignore it. Sparatus' mandibles twitched as he motioned to say something but Tevos waved him down. The Council adjourned at the abrupt exit of Admiral Reid with a sense of alertness about them.

**[Codex Directive - The Leviathan]**

** [Authorization code: Gold Omega 7798-2134]**

** [Access Granted]**

**Batarian scouting party discovered an unusual corpse on the planet Jartar in the Hades Gamma cluster. It was immense in size and took the shape of something similar to Earth cuttlefish or squid. In that regard it is also very much like the sculpture dug up on Earth. In our interest we recovered it and brought it to the [CLASSIFIED] facility on [CLASSIFIED]. Many of my taskforce have dubbed it Leviathan.**

**A Leviathan usually refers to a large aquatic creature, there is no evidence of it being aquatic but it is certainly large. In light of the name I am officially dubbing this project: Leviathan. Our research has only just begun but dating suggests the corpse is nearly one billion years old, remarkable. Our research continues.**

** [SERVER DISCONNECT]**

**[LOGGING YOU OUT ADMIRAL REID]**

Reid closed the holo-controls on his wheelchair and continued down the hall to his lab. The Normandy was too small for Reid's liking, he just wanted to get back to the Aconcagua. The only good thing about being on the Normandy was he could see his son every day, rather than every year.

He entered into the small room. It had been converted into a make shift computer lab where he could keep in contact with his taskforce and continue his research into Leviathan. As he settled in at his desk the door opened and John walked in.

'Afternoon,' sighed Shepard as he slumped into a chair behind Reid.

'Bad day for you to?' wondered Reid.

'We took on a Turian Spectre named Nihlus, apparently he's here to observe how we do business.'

'Really? We're only going to Arcturus to link up with the Aconcagua.'

'Yeah about that. Command has diverted us to Eden Prime.'

'An outer colony, why are we going there?'

'A research team has excavated a Prothean relic, we're taking it back to Arcturus for study.'

Being the head of the re-search division Reid had heard of the relic on Eden Prime. The council didn't like humanity keeping the 7 colonies so snooped around as much as possible on the outer colonies, hoping to find something. He'd been too busy with the Leviathan research to worry about a Prothean relic.

'Commander, you better get up here,' said Joker over the intercom.

Shepard and Reid made their way to the bridge. Upon arrival they met the Spectre they picked up standing around a small holo-table.

'Commander, Admiral,' greeted Nihlus.

'Joker, sitrep.'

'Communication from Eden Prime Commander, It's not good.'

**EDEN PRIME  
2183**

'Get down private!'

Williams the young soldier into a trench as projectiles flung through the air. The Private huffed in fear and carelessly waved his gun around as he squeezed the trigger. Williams smacked her fit against his armor and yelled at him to shape up. Her squad sprayed rounds down the slope but whatever was coming at them had hit them so fast and so hard they didn't know what was happening.

A massive ship growled in the distance as red lighting cracked around it. Its massive legs smashed into the colony sending a resound boom through the low hills.

'What the hell is that thing?'

'Retreat back into the dig site!' she cried.

She and two other squad members gave covering fore as the rest fled back into the dig site. They needed to get to the Prothean device to protect it. As they fled she tried to get a glimpse of their attackers but all she could see was the glowing projectiles flying at her and that hulking monster in the distance.

Her squad dropped like sacks of bricks as the retreated through the site. By the time they had mad it halfway, she was the only one left. She managed to catch a glimpse of duo of flying drones chasing her. She fired off a few round behind her, hoping to hit one of them. Her barriers faulted and she fell to the ground. She rolled on her back and fired off a few quick shots, destroying both the drones flying towards her. She slumped into the dirt with a sigh of both relief and regret. Her entire squad had been killed but at least one lived to tell the tale. Suddenly the relief disappeared as she looked across the dirt track to see a young man being laid over a domed device. A spike drove through him and sent up into the air with blood gushing from the massive hole in his torso.

The two armored synthetics turned their single glowing eye sensors to her and spoke in an array of pitchy drones. She hid behind a large rock protruding from the ground to be greet by two soldiers. They quickly eliminated the alerted synthetics and came closer.

'Alliance?' she wondered.

They both wore identical alliance uniform, navy blue with a white N7 logo on the right breast plate. One of them drew his side arm and fired a small dart into the padding between her breast plates. Almost immediately she felt nauseous and fell on the back, losing consciousness.

'Obviously not,' she murmured.

The taller one picked her up and carried her away as the other acted as an escort, looking around for any enemies. As they came over the small a large ship banked into a halt, deploying 3 troops. Its black mirroring hull contrasted the black clouds over head and made it marginally obscure. The three troops came around the rock face along the side of the hill, carefully analyzing their surroundings. The shorter soldier fired at one of them. The small metal slug shattered against the physical presence of the soldier's shields. It was suddenly realized they were fighting against a real graduate of the N7 program.

Soldiers who graduate from the N7 program are some of the best trained soldiers in the alliance and receive the best equipment. The only two more volatile ranks are Marshall and Templar. Templar can be officers within the alliance trained by Templars and will one day be part of the inner sanctum or Templars themselves, the worst kind.

The second shot penetrated the second troops' shields and killed him instantly before they reached cover. In a blink of an eye they found themselves in a small firefight. The taller one laid Williams down behind a large rock while he fired off shots down the hill.

The two remaining troops quickly killed the attackers and moved up towards their dying bodies. Shepard's helmet retracted into the thick brace around his neck. He pulled the armor off one of the bodies to find a Cerberus uniform underneath. Shepard sighed, why would Cerberus want her?  
He knelt down beside the woman's body and felt for a heartbeat. When he felt her heart beating he gave a sigh of relief.

'She's alive.'

'Good, can we wake her up?'

The second soldier's helmet retracted to reveal his thick black hair and Caucasian skin. He took a small needle loaded with a dark orange liquid from the belt around his waist and handed it to Shepard.

'I won't say no.'

Shepard injected the liquid into a vein along the inside of her forearm and she slowly came back to the land of the conscious.

'Relax. I'm Commander Shepard this is Lieutenant Alenko, alliance navy.'

'Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, the 212.'

'Can you walk?' asked Shepard.

She got to her feet with some help from Shepard and Kaidan.

'I've found some burned out buildings here Shepard, a lot of bodies,' said Nihlus over the comm.

'We've ran into some human resistance on the way. We'll link up at the docks,' replied Shepard.

'Human resistance?'

'Nothing we can't handle. Shepard out.'

Shepard and Kaidan adopted her into their squad and they slowly moved forward toward where Williams had come from. Shepard saw the corpses of the synthetics on the ground and he immediately noticed their design.

'Geth?'

'What, the Geth haven't been seen outside the veil in nearly 200 hundred years. Why would they be here now?'

'I don't know, but they are.'

'Normandy this is Shepard, proceeding onto the dig site.'

'Copy that John, We'll monitor the situation from up here.'

Joker watched the thermostat on the IES systems. The Internal Emissions Sync was the only piece of engineering the Turians helped design with humanity as an act of good faith.

'Joker, pull up the colony.'

Joker pulled up the colony over the holo-table and the large hulking monster that landed on the surface came into view. The colony burned around it as Geth moved through decimating everything in their path. The Geth must be here for the device, which can be the only possible reason they would be her on an agrarian colony. Reid took a 3D projection of the beast and as its body was projected over the table his assumptions were confirmed.

'My god, it's exactly the same. It's Leviathan.'


	8. Revelations

**Tuchanka, New Urdnot  
March 3****rd,**** 2181 CE**

The once lifeless wreck home to a struggling people stood higher than it had before. The city of new Urdnot was the first city to be reconstructed and have vegetation reintroduced into the environment. The city was built above what the Krogan call the city of the ancients, an underground array of tunnels built after the fallout of the Krogan nuclear war. Urdnot Jarrod and his mate Bakara are currently in power over the city. Bringing clans together is somewhat problematic due to so many clashing ideals.

Urdnot Jarrod has agreed to respect the Skillian Doctrine, restricting them to the Skillian verge and other planets within human territory. Both Krogan and Humanity shared a hate for the council. The Krogan hated them for the genophage and humanity hated them for their blindness. The council condemned humanities decision to cure the genophage but the Templar inner sanctum saw it as an act of good. Not only had humanity gained an ally but they had also gained a formidable war asset.

Urdnot Jarrod and Bakara walked up to the podium in front of a massive crowd of people gathering around the key stone. The key stone represented how they had come in this long rebuilding process and where they should never return. Admiral Reid and Master Templar Jarvis Monroe stood off to Krieg's left and his son Wrex stood at his right.

'My fellow Krogan. Today marks the 30th anniversary of the new Krogan Empire, and our alliance with the human systems alliance,' announced Jarrod.

'Our son Urdnot Wrex, will become the first Krogan to be part of the joint human and Krogan military.'

Wrex waved to the audience as they doused him with praise an admiration. Wrex was what used to be called a warlord, able to use biotics in tandem with advanced weaponry. He would be serving under Commander Shepard, his ship was assigned to the joint action to collect each races best and brightest.

'Multiple cities across Tuchanka are being erected for the other clans and roads are being built to make traveling between cities fast and effortless.'

'Today is the day Krogan show the galaxy what we can be and what we will be. We are Krogan!'

Jarrod shot an arm up in the air and fireworks exploded in the starry night sky in flurries of red and yellow. The massive crowd and others across the city rejoiced in celebration of a new and healthy Krogan future. Jarrod and Bakara took Wrex and the two Templars back into the leader's residence. Inside they indulged in a traditional Krogan feast of Varren and an assortment of vegetables native to Tuchanka. The drink of choice was Ryncol but Reid and Monroe had brought their own bottles of whiskey and wine. Reid never got many chances to relax like this and the Krogan certainly knew how to throw a banquet.

'So Admiral I hear my son will be serving with your son,' said Jarrod.

'That he will, my son John is commanding the Normandy where Wrex will be serving.'

'I hear he is quite the warrior,' said Wrex.

'That he is. Much like his mother in that regard.'

'Ah, Hannah. I remember her from the academy,' said Monroe.

'That's where I met her. I failed in a science career so I enlisted with the colonial military.'

Krogan and human were different in tradition and physiology but the grand master believed the two races were meant to be allies. Reid was only a Captain in the colonial military when he took his first steps on Tuchanka. He could remember the heat in the air and how dry everything was, rain hadn't fallen for a long time. With experimental terraforming technology they managed to repair the atmosphere by rebuilding the ozone layer and introducing diverse plant life, genetically modified for arid climates.

He couldn't help but think of Hannah. Her long brown hair and her sapphire eyes, he remembered waking up to them every morning.

'You're a lucky man,' smiled Monroe.

'I was a lucky man,' sighed Reid.

She'd died from a supposed suicide. He found her in their bed while they were on shore with a gun in her hand and hole through her head. It had all the properties of a suicide but the gun had other fingerprints on it, older ones. The prints belonged to one Jack Harper a member of the Alliance military who vanished after the first contact war.

'Sorry, I shouldn't of…'

'Its fine, I brought it up,' said Reid.

'I look forward to serving with your son. I hope to see his skills in battle,' praised Wrex.

**Talyth city, Tuchanka  
September 14****th****, 2183 CE**

The blade slid beneath the Krogans head plate and punctured the brain. The Krogan had few weaknesses but once you knew how to exploit them the Krogan were easier to deal with. The Krogan soldier fell to the ground with a thud and the assassin continued on.

'Leng reporting in, moving to objective' he said through his ear piece.

'Copy that, we'll be waiting for your signal,' replied the Captain of the Lexington.

The Lexington was a small Cerberus frigate made for missions like this. It was maneuverable enough to make quick deployments and extractions in atmosphere. The Turians had been dealing under the table with Cerberus, helping them build a more efficient IES system allowing them to engage it in FTL.

Leng sprinted near silently along the scaffolding around the building. Talyth was still under construction but would soon be completed and the clan leader would have a place throne room to rule from. Cerberus agreed that the oppression of the Krogan was wrong but their release could endanger billions of lives. The Krogan could be either excellent liars or the Templar are truly blind.  
Leng was here to kill the clan leader. The death of the clan leader would cause a war between his two sons potentially meaning the downfall of the city.

The Illusive man considered the Krogan a rogue species, uninfluenced by the rest of the galaxy and not bound by a proper government. Despite the fragile Krogan Parliament on Tuchanka most clans operate independently and with their own Ideals. The Templar would prevent all hostilities with either clever business tactics or a display of dominance. If a Krogan clan leader were to be killed by a Templar blade that would make the Krogan turn against the Templar. Before he died Anderson retrieved a hidden blade belonging to Master Grissom. Each blade is unique and when it is found imbedded in the head of the Talyth clan chief, nothing will stand between the Krogan and the annihilation of the Alliance.

Leng climbed through the window and crept through the shadows around a small Krogan patrol before climbing to the railing above. The Clan Chief was inspecting his throne room at the top of the tower. The glorified Krogan statues lined the throne room, looking down on the gold plated floor. Leng hid behind a statue at the end of the room. It was much larger than the rest, he supposed it was someone of significance in Krogan society. Leng didn't see any Templar on his way up nor were there any on the room. Finally they were one step ahead of them.

The clan chief was being escorted by two Krogan bodyguards armed with claymore shotguns. One shot from one of those and Leng would be shredded. He had to quick and accurate if he was going to pull this off. There was another Krogan with them, the architect supposedly. He climbed the statue as the group reached the large black throne gilded with gold.

'Your throne,' said the architect.

The clan chief walked up the small set of steps and sat softly down on the hard rock throne. He ran the stout talons at the end of his fingers against the ridged rock arms of the throne and gave a satisfied grunt.

'I like it,' he announced.

'Excellent,' cried the architect.

'When will the tower be completed?'

'One more month sir, the final panels are being set on the upper spire.'

Suddenly one of the bodyguards screamed and fell to the ground, the other gargled as his throat exploded with blood. Leng recovered one of the claymores and killed the architect. He lunged toward the clan chief with the hidden blade extended. He was repulsed midair by a wall of dark energy. The Clan chief had sent him across the room with biotics before grabbing another claymore and firing it at Leng. He dived out of the way and sprinted towards the chief. A flurry of energy orbs exploded around him as he darted around. Leng tackled him to the ground and attempted another assassination but the hulking arms of the Krogan through him away like a rag doll. Leng threw a grenade at the Krogan's feet and when it exploded the Krogan fell back into his throne in a blur.

Leng drove the blade through the palate of the Krogan. The blade came clear of its leather brace and Leng huffed. He had underestimated the clan chief and nearly paid for it with his life.

'Lexington this is Leng, objective complete,' he huffed.

'Copy that, Extraction imminent. High tail it to the roof, we're on our way.'

**[RESTRICTED ACCESS – CLASSIFIED INFORMATION]  
[PASSCODE: EVERTING_IS_PERMITTED]  
[ACCESS GRANTED_WELCOME CAPTAIN OLEG PETROVSKY]**

**FILE NAME: NIKOLAI ORELOV**

Nikolai Andreievich Orelov (late 1800s – 1928) was a member of the Russian Brotherhood of Assassins during the late 19th and early 20th century. Nikolai was notably involved in events such as the Borki train disaster and the Tunguska explosion, and spearheaded the hunt for the Imperial Sceptre of the Russian royal family.

**Nikolai was responsible for several notorious events during his career as an Assassin; in 1888, when tasked with assassinating Tsar Alexander III, the fight that ensued between the two men accidentally caused the Borki train disaster. Twenty years later, in an attempt to retrieve the Imperial Sceptre from a facility in Tunguska, Nikolai's failure to acquire the artifact in time caused the object to explode, as Nikola Tesla broadcast a burst of electricity to it, resulting in a massive explosion that was later known as the Tunguska event.**

**He is also the great-grandfather of Daniel Cross, an individual who would go on to cause the near fall of the Assassin Order generations later and the distant relative of Oleg Petrovsky.**

**[DATA STREAM END] **

**QUERY: WHY IS THIS INFORMATION CLASSIFIED?  
ANSWER: ALL ASSASSIN PERSONEL FILES WITH REFERENCE TO TEMPLAR AFFILIATION ARE DECLARED AS CLASSIFED.**

Oleg knew that Daniel Cross was part of the Templar but he never knew how he was part of it. He didn't know he was a member of the inner sanctum. A chill ran down his spine, he shivered and put the data pad down on the table. He left the room and took the elevator down to the ship's main deck where the bridge was and the communications room.

'Captain, the illusive man is waiting for you in the comms room,' advised a young lieutenant.

He walked off the elevator and through the armory into a small corridor where he entered into a room with a squared table at the center. The table lowered and a holographic cylinder rose from the floor. Oleg walked to the center of the table and the image of the illusive man's open office was projected around him. The illusive man sat in his rounded chair with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

'Captain Petrovsky, I hope you have good news.'

'I do. Agent Leng has successfully eliminated the target.'

'Glad to hear it. I'm sending you a document relating to an attack on Eden. Two of our agents were recovering a young Alliance sergeant for experimentation when a large ship made fall on the planet.'

'Who attacked?

'The Geth. It seems there was a Prothean beacon on Eden Prime and the Geth were after it for some reason.'

'What do you mean, were?'

'The Beacon has been reported destroyed. The Geth and their flagship have returned to hiding, but they will be back.'

'What do you want me to do?

'The document has coordinates to a planet owned by several Salarian, Asari and Turian corporations. Go there and executor annoleis will direct you further, Illusive Man out.'

The Illusive man handed the data pad off to a young woman who left the large room through a door at the rooms end. He puffed on his cigarette and pondered thought a moment. He was old, older than most thought. After the first contact war he realized the need for the assassin was greater than ever before. His distant relatives had been members of the assassin before the downfall. After the war Cerberus was no longer an idea; it was real.

He smirked as he placed a hand on a sphere at the end of his chairs arm. Its gold veins shone as he tapped his index finger against its metallic body. A trident like staff extended from the bottom of it, holstered in a locking mechanism in the floor.

'Only I can save them, only I can save them all.'


End file.
